All tourists, and not only, at least once may not be lucky: they fell behind the group, got lost in the forest, lost their way, got injured and are unable to move independently. Therefore, each of you would do well to know the generally accepted distress signals that will help you attract attention to yourself in an emergency or even recognize these signals and help others.
Distress signal types:
- Visual in open area: reflection of the sun from a shiny surface - "sunbeam" can be reflected from a mirror, foil, candy wrapper, tin can, etc. Light of a flashlight (at night), camera flash, fire from a fire (at night), smoke from a fire (during the day), signal flare, signs made of branches or stones laid out on the ground, bright things or packages hung on trees.
- Visuals on the water: various dyes that color water.
- Sound: whistling (better if there is a whistle), shots from firearms or signal weapons, shouting, etc.
- Radio signals: radio station (walkie-talkie), mobile phone, direction finder, etc.
There are universal distress signals. For mountains, this is a 6-1 signal, that is, 6 short signals in a row, then a long pause. Signals are given by any means, for example, 6 short whistles, pause, or 6 short flashes of a lantern, pause, etc.
In other conditions (not in the mountains), a 3-1 type signal is used (three short ones - a pause).
In order for your signal to be recognized as a distress signal, it must be triple- be it, three flashes of a lantern, three whistles, three fires. If the signals are dynamic (whistle, flashlight, etc.), you need to pause for a minute between them, and then repeat them again.
signal fires you need to kindle in the form of any figures, and not at random, and the distance between them should be about 30-50 meters. The international distress signal will recognize the bonfires laid out three in one line, or forming regular triangle. At the same time, 5 fires in the shape of the letter T, will mean a safe place to land.
For visual signals laid out on the ground, there are special signs shown in the table below. Signs are laid out from improvised means (branches, stones, things, etc.). Their size should be large enough to be clearly visible from the air.
There are also special signals that are shown by hands to rescue pilots (it is advisable to have bright, clearly visible from the air, things in your hands):
1) Please take on board
2) Technical assistance required
3) It's comfortable to sit here
4) Everything is fine
5) I understand you, I do it
6) I have a radio station
7) It's dangerous to sit down here
8) Can't move. Need medical help.
9) Ready to receive a pennant, a message.
10) Yes
11) No.
International Signals - these are generally accepted signals for asking for help. Distress signals are needed in order to inform that people or a vehicle (most often they are transmitted by ships) need help or are in danger. A distress signal, as already mentioned above, can be a sound, radio signal, pyrotechnic, light or smoke signal. Here is some of them:
- SOS(...---...) using Morse code, it is transmitted as follows: 3 dots, 3 dashes, 3 dots (three long signals - pause - three short ones - pause - three long ones). From the English "Save Our Souls". It was these letters that were generally recognized due to the rather easy sequence
- CQD (-.-.--.--..) Translated from English, "Come Quickly, Danger!". Its official meaning is "All posts, alert!
International radio signals look like this:
- Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! (Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!) Repeated three times. Translated from French as ( m "aidez)- help. Use it in case of serious danger.
- Pan-pan, Pan-pan, Pan-pan (Pan-pan, pan-pan, pan-pan) Repeated three times. Translated from French as panne)- breakdown. Use it for less serious danger than Mayday!
International Maritime Distress Signals:
If you yourself saw a signal for help, then you need to do everything in your power to help people in trouble. The most experienced members of your group should be sent to the disaster site, since the random and thoughtless actions of the inexperienced can lead to an increase in the number of people who need help. The remaining members of the group must prepare an "emergency" camp: put up tents, light a fire, boil water, prepare the available first-aid kits and set up distress signals around the camp.
REMEMBER! The signal for help should be given ONLY in a hopeless situation, if there is a real threat to the life or health of people !!!
Let's consider the methods of sending distress signals, the implementation of which is possible without the availability of special technical means.
signal fires
The easiest and most affordable way to send signals, which has been used from time immemorial to the present. First of all, you need to choose a place convenient for fires, well distinguishable both from the ground and from the air. For these purposes, clearings, wide clearings are suitable. It is better if the place chosen for the fires is on a hill. We should not forget that this place should be near the camp of the victims.
To attract the attention of rescuers, not one, but several bonfires are lit. It is customary to build three bonfires located on the same line or at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Such figures are international distress signals. Five fires, forming the letter "T", indicate a place suitable for landing an aircraft, a helicopter. The distance between fires should be 30-50 m.
Methods for equipping signal fires
The preparation of fires should be done immediately, as soon as the first actions necessary in an emergency situation are completed. Every fire should have a supply of reliable kindling and firewood covered in case of bad weather. On heavily moistened soil, place signal fires on log decks. For quick, guaranteed kindling of signal fires, place attendants near them, supporting the so-called small ignition fires. A fire ready for kindling, a sufficient supply of firewood is a guarantee of a reliable signal to rescuers who came out or flew out to help the victims.
smoke signals
Most effective on clear and windless days. To increase the amount of smoke in the fire, you need to throw damp branches, grass (harvested in advance). However, in winter and in inclement weather in summer, such smoke is hardly noticeable. At this time of the year, black smoke is clearly visible. To do this, you can use rubber, plastic or car oil.
At night, a bright fire made of dry firewood is needed. A pilot can see such a fire at a distance of up to 20 km. From the ground, they are visible at a distance of up to 10 km.
If for some reason it was possible to make only one fire, it is recommended to periodically cover it with a piece of cloth, thick branches of spruce branches. Such a pulsing fire attracts the attention of rescuers better than a constantly burning one.
signal mirror
A good location detection effect is signal mirror- heliograph. The brightness of the light signal "beam" of such a mirror at an angle of standing of the Sun at 90 ° reaches about 7 million candles. The flash of such a mirror is visible from an aircraft flying at an altitude of 1-2 km, from a distance of 20-25 km.
International code table
Signals are laid out in places that are well visible from the air - in clearings, unforested hillsides. Recommended signal sizes are at least 10 m long, 3 m wide and 3 m between signs. For the manufacture of signs, you can use any materials available. The main requirement is that they should stand out well on the earth's surface. Items of clothing, tents, sleeping bags, life jackets, etc. are suitable for laying out signs.
In the absence of equipment, a signal sign can be dug up by removing the sod and laying it upside down next to the trench, increasing the width of the sign. In the snow, a sign laid out with spruce branches is clearly visible.
With a significant decrease in the aircraft, you can apply international aviation emergency signs.
Aircraft responses may be as follows:
- “I see you” - a turn in a horizontal plane (a circle above the detected people) or a green rocket.
- “Wait for help on the spot, a helicopter will come for you” - flying in a horizontal plane with a “eight” or a red rocket.
- "Go in the indicated direction" - the flight of the aircraft over the victims of distress in the direction of the course of movement or a yellow rocket.
- “Understood you” - swaying from wing to wing or a white rocket. Night: Turn landing lights or navigation lights on and off twice. The absence of these signs indicates that the sign given from the ground was not accepted.
- “I didn’t understand you” - a “snake” flight or two red rockets.
- “Design the direction of landing and the place of landing” - a dive with the subsequent entry into a turn or two green rockets.
Information signals
Used when it is necessary to leave a disaster area or camp. At the same time, one should always leave a clearly visible sign - an arrow indicating the direction in which the group left. It is also necessary to mark the route of movement with any signs.
International Code Table of Signals
The signals of the code table are laid out in open, clearly visible places from the air - on the slopes of hills, glades. In different sources, the recommended sizes of signals are indicated differently, depending on the tastes and departmental predilections of the authors. Therefore, it is better to stay at the international standard: 10 m long, 3 m wide and 3 m between signs. But in any case, not less than 2.5 m. Otherwise, the sign will be difficult to make out from a great height. There are no restrictions in the big direction - the more significant the signal, the higher the probability that it will be noticed.
The signal is made from spare clothing laid out on the ground, pieces of fabric, fixed with pegs driven into the ground or stones laid on top. From the wreckage of a vehicle, stones, spruce branches and tree branches. On the seashore - from pebbles or seaweed thrown by the surf. The signal can be dug up by removing the turf with a shovel or knife and deepening the resulting trench (in this case, the turf itself can be carefully laid along the trench on the grass with the inside, dark side up, which will double its width). In the snow, the signal is "drawn" with the help of ash from a burnt-out fire or trampled on by the heels of shoes. It is advisable to line the bottom of the trampled trenches with spruce branches, branches, etc. dark material.
In all cases, efforts should be made to ensure maximum contrast of color signal and background on which it is laid out. In other words, on light soil, signs should be as dark as possible, on dark soil - light.
There is a special system for communicating with pilots - international aviation emergency sign.
- Please take me on board.
- Technical assistance required.
- It is convenient to land here.
- Everything is fine.
- Understood, I'm doing it.
- I have a radio station.
- It's dangerous to land here.
- Can't move, needs medical attention.
- Ready to accept pennant, written message.
- No.
For example, universal in every way SOS signal, or any other light or sound signal repeated three times in a row at short intervals. It doesn't matter what it will be - three lights, three columns of smoke, three loud whistles, three shots, three flashes of light, etc. - as long as the signal is triple.
Between the filing of each group of signals, a one-minute pause should be maintained. Three light or noise signals - a minute of rest - and again three signals.
For those in distress who are deprived of emergency and signaling for help, another way has been invented to send distress signals - the international code table of distress signals.
The code table includes generally accepted signals, which are laid out in open, clearly visible places from the air - on hillsides, glades. In different sources, the recommended sizes of signals are indicated differently, depending on the tastes and departmental predilections of the authors.
Therefore, it is better to stay at the international standard: 10 meters long, 3 meters wide and 3 meters between signs. But in any case, not less than 2.5 meters. Otherwise, the sign will be difficult to make out from a great height. There are no restrictions in the big direction - the more significant the signal, the higher the probability that it will be noticed. For example, on one of my travels, I was able to observe a sign with sides much larger than one hundred meters with my own eyes. True, it was not a sign of distress, but rather a symbol of human stupidity. Someone was not too lazy, tore off the slope of a hill rising above the surrounding area in order to perpetuate one very short but capacious Russian word, which I cannot quote here for censorship reasons.
Local pilots, not without pride, claimed that this titanic construction of lovers of Russian literature is used to guide aircraft to their native airport and is easily read even from space. So the content is the content, and the example that the more the better is very clear. What can be used to make a signal? From almost everything. From sleeping bags laid out on the ground, a cut tent, spare clothes, life jackets, pieces of fabric fixed with pegs driven into the ground or stones laid on top. From the wreckage of a vehicle, stones, spruce branches and tree branches. On the seashore - from pebbles or seaweed thrown by the surf.
You can not lay out the signal, but for example, dig it out, for which you remove the sod with a shovel or knife and deepen the resulting trench. At the same time, the turf itself must be carefully laid along the trench on the grass with the inner, dark side up, which will double its width. In the snow, the signal is drawn with the help of ash from a burnt-out fire or trampled on by the heels of shoes. It is advisable to line the bottom of the trampled trenches with spruce branches, branches, etc. dark material. Only, when trampling trenches in the snow, one should not stomp next to them, so that instead of a clearly readable signal sign, one does not get a meaningless pattern of dozens of paths and paths going in different directions. The construction site should be approached only from one side and only along one pre-marked path.
In all cases, one should strive to ensure the maximum contrast of the color signal and the background on which it is decomposed. In other words, signs should be as dark as possible on light soil, and light on dark soil. In the desert, where there is no need to choose building material, low shafts of sand are piled up. Such a sign works twice a day - in the morning and in the evening, when the sun is low on the horizon.
The thick shadows cast by the artificial sand banks are quite readable from the air. But it is even better to hang on stakes driven into the sand, cloth or even thick paper. The fabric itself can be of any color, even yellow, because the signal will not be drawn by the panels, but by the shadow they cast. In the absence of tissue, one can try to build a similar shadow signal from plants tied into long bundles and stretched between stakes a meter from the ground.
The code table of distress signals includes characters that have a single meaning known to the pilot of the search aircraft. You should not invent your own signals, and if for some reason you have forgotten how this or that sign is deciphered, you can lay out the well-known SOS signal on the ground. For a long time I doubted whether it was worth telling the reader about one more method of alarm. On the one hand, it is ridiculously simple and therefore accessible to every person, it does not require any additional technical devices, it is effective - solid weighty pluses.
On the other hand, it causes objective damage to the environment - at the present time, the minus is very serious. Well, how will people, carried away, begin to use it, where it is necessary and where it is not necessary? But then I thought that it was better than the "signal". In addition, this method is laborious enough for a person to undertake it only for boredom or pranks. The essence of this method of signaling is that the victims are trying by all means available to them to change the natural appearance of the surrounding area. Large geometric figures are burned out, trampled on the ground, artificial clearings are cut down in dense forests.
Of course, it is more convenient not to fell large trees, such work is too laborious, but, for example, to cut low bushes on the edges of a forest or on the banks of a reservoir. The size of the sign (circle, triangle, etc.) must be 20 meters or more, the width of the strip should be 3-4 meters. Close up, such a sign is almost invisible, but from a height of several hundred meters, it immediately catches the eye. In general, it should be noted that in an emergency it is impossible to limit yourself to installing one or two signals. The signaling must be varied and, so to speak, multi-stage, only then it is effective. For example, having caught a glare from a signal on the cockpit glass, the pilot will examine the area more carefully, notice a geometric figure carved in the bushes.
Having descended, he will make out the signs of the code table and the smoke of the signal fire, and, finally, consider the people themselves. By the way, the latter should make sure that they are clearly visible. Put on bright, preferably orange, and white clothes in the steppe, go out of the shade of trees to a sunny, open place, wave bright pieces of fabric over your head, at night - with a torch or flashlight.
International aviation emergency gestural signaling.
But it is even better if those in distress know the international aeronautical emergency gestural signaling used by pilots of search and rescue aircraft and helicopters to communicate information.
1. Please take me on board.
2. Technical assistance required.
3. It is convenient to land here.
4. Everything is in order.
5. I understand you, I'm doing it.
6. I have a radio station.
7. It is dangerous to land here.
8. I can't move, I need medical help.
9. Ready to accept pennant, written message.
10. Yes.
11. No.
Another form of signaling is used for the same purpose of communicating specific information to search aircraft pilots. Only it is no longer international, but ours, domestic, adopted by the Air Force. With whom the victims will have to communicate in an accident - with our or not our aviators, and which of them adheres to which gesture system, it is impossible to say in advance, so it is better, just in case, to know both.
1. “An incident has occurred, there are victims”- a person lying on the ground, or a circle of fabric (spread parachute), in the middle of which is the figure of a lying person.
2. “We need food, warm clothing”- a person sitting on the ground, or a triangle of fabric.
3. "Show me which way to go"- a person with arms raised and slightly spread apart, or a thin, long triangle of fabric in the form of an arrow.
4. "You can land here"- a person in a shallow crouch with arms outstretched forward, or a square of fabric.
5. "Land in the indicated direction"- a standing person with arms outstretched forward in the direction of the landing approach or a landing “T” made of fabric.
6. "You can't sit here"- a standing person with arms crossed above his head or a cross made of fabric.
Simplified distress signals and universal SOS signal.
In addition to special ones, there are simplified distress signals, which are more or less aware of the rescuers of almost all departments. For example, the SOS signal, universal in all respects, or any other light or sound signal repeated three times in a row at short intervals. It does not matter what it will be - three lights, three columns of smoke, three loud whistles, three shots, three flashes of light, etc. - as long as the signal is triple.
Between the filing of each group of signals, a one-minute pause should be maintained. Three light or noise signals - a minute of rest - and again three signals. An international distress signal received in the mountains looks a little different: six whistles, light flashes or hand waves per minute, then a minute pause and repeat the signal.
Actions upon detection of foreign distress signals.
If during a hike or travel you notice someone else's distress signal, take all measures to provide assistance. First of all, fix the place where the signal was given - take the bearing with the help, note the landmarks in the indicated direction. If the victims are in a hard-to-reach place, several of the most experienced travelers should come to their aid. It is unacceptable to send a rescue team light - without a tent, warm clothes, food. Departing rescuers must be completely autonomous, even if those in distress are several hundred meters away.
The remaining (insurance group) should immediately begin to equip the emergency camp. Pitch tents, build shelters, make fires, boil water, set up signs-signals around the camp and in the direction of the rescue group, organize intermediate camps. If possible, it is necessary to immediately notify the rescue services and authorities about the incident and then act according to their instructions. During the work of full-time rescuers, independent actions not coordinated with them are unacceptable. You can continue the route only with the permission of the relevant services after the end of the rescue operation.
Emergency signaling, distress signals and universal ethics.
The last piece of advice concerns not so much alarm technology as human ethics. Any rescue operation distracts a large number of people from their main work, exposes their lives to increased risk, not counting the large financial costs. Therefore, before deciding to send a distress signal, you need to think seven times. Any distress signal should be used only in a truly critical situation that directly threatens the life or health of people.
Several tens of kilometers to be covered, worn out legs or non-compliance with the terms of the trip, not to mention such mercantile reasons as the fear of being late from vacation, missing air tickets, etc., are not a reason to give an emergency signal and deploy large-scale rescue operations.
For the same purpose, after the successful completion of the accident, all emergency signals should be removed or, if this is not possible, the local authorities, rescue services, aviators should be notified that in the indicated areas the signals (specify which ones) are “out of order”. Unfortunately, there are cases when travelers have been at home for many days, and rescue teams, alerted, continued to comb the area in search of victims.
Based on the materials of the book "School of Survival in Accidents and Natural Disasters".
Ilyin A.
The actions of those in distress, if they decide, without waiting for the help of rescuers, to get out to people, to populated areas, on their own.
Distress signals
Let's consider the methods of sending distress signals, the implementation of which is possible without the availability of special technical means.
signal fires- the easiest and most affordable way to send signals, which has been used from time immemorial to the present. First of all, you need to choose a place convenient for fires, well distinguishable both from the ground and from the air. For these purposes, clearings, wide clearings are suitable. It is better if the place chosen for the fires is on a hill. We should not forget that this place should be near the camp of the victims.
To attract the attention of rescuers, not one, but several bonfires are lit. It is customary to build three bonfires located on the same line or at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. Such figures are international distress signals. Five fires, forming the letter "T", indicate a place suitable for landing an aircraft, a helicopter. The distance between fires should be 30-50 m.
Methods for equipping signal fires
The preparation of fires should be done immediately, as soon as the first actions necessary in an emergency situation are completed. Every fire should have a supply of reliable kindling and firewood covered in case of bad weather. On heavily moistened soil, place signal fires on log decks. For quick, guaranteed kindling of signal fires, place attendants near them, supporting the so-called small ignition fires. A fire ready for kindling, a sufficient supply of firewood is a guarantee of a reliable signal to rescuers who came out or flew out to help the victims.
smoke signals are most effective on clear and windless days. To increase the amount of smoke in the fire, you need to throw damp branches, grass (harvested in advance). However, in winter and in inclement weather in summer, such smoke is hardly noticeable. At this time of the year, black smoke is clearly visible. To do this, you can use rubber, plastic or car oil.
At night, a bright fire made of dry firewood is needed. A pilot can see such a fire at a distance of up to 20 km. From the ground, they are visible at a distance of up to 10 km.
If for some reason it was possible to make only one fire, it is recommended to periodically cover it with a piece of cloth, thick branches of spruce branches. Such a pulsing fire attracts the attention of rescuers better than a constantly burning one.
A good location detection effect is signal mirror- heliograph. The brightness of the light signal "beam" of such a mirror at an angle of standing of the Sun at 90 ° reaches about 7 million candles. The flash of such a mirror is visible from an aircraft flying at an altitude of 1-2 km, from a distance of 20-25 km.
Rescuers developed and used international code table.
Signals are laid out in places that are well visible from the air - in clearings, unforested hillsides. Recommended signal sizes are at least 10 m long, 3 m wide and 3 m between signs. For the manufacture of signs, you can use any materials available. The main requirement is that they should stand out well on the earth's surface. Items of clothing, tents, sleeping bags, life jackets, etc. are suitable for laying out signs.
In the absence of equipment, a signal sign can be dug up by removing the sod and laying it upside down next to the trench, increasing the width of the sign. In the snow, a sign laid out with spruce branches is clearly visible.
With a significant decrease in the aircraft, you can apply international aviation emergency signs.
Aircraft responses may be as follows:
“I see you” - a turn in a horizontal plane (a circle above the detected people) or a green rocket.
“Wait for help on the spot, a helicopter will come for you” - flying in a horizontal plane with a “eight” or a red rocket.
"Go in the indicated direction" - the flight of the aircraft over the victims of distress in the direction of the course of movement or a yellow rocket.
“Understood you” - swaying from wing to wing or a white rocket. Night: Turn landing lights or navigation lights on and off twice. The absence of these signs indicates that the sign given from the ground was not accepted.
“I didn’t understand you” - a “snake” flight or two red rockets.
“Design the direction of landing and the place of landing” - a dive with the subsequent entry into a turn or two green rockets.
Information signals used when it is necessary to leave a disaster area or camp. At the same time, one should always leave a clearly visible sign - an arrow indicating the direction in which the group left. It is also necessary to mark the route of movement with any signs.
Options for supplying information signals:
a - “The place where they passed”;
b - "Turn left";
c - "Turn right";
g - "Caution, dangerous!"